How to Make Friends and Curse People
by Ms.Awsamazing
Summary: Collab with TheCrampReturns. Toon Link finds himself lonely in the time before all the characters are announced for the new Smash Tournament. However he finds a new friend in a certain witch, who leaves him literally tongue-tied. After all red and green are perfect compliments.
1. Chapter 1

"I thought I told you Toon, LITERALLY counting down the seconds isn't really a productive idea."

Toon Link grumbled quietly and ignored his older counterpart. At the moment he was currently sitting cross-legged on the floor, across from one of the many clocks in the Smash Mansion. It was time for yet another Smash Tournament, and just like the last time, Toon Link found himself bunking with his older counterpart. He and "Link Prime" as he'd taken to calling him, had taken to acting as surrogate brothers for each other. And Link couldn't help but feel bad watching his "little brother" fixate on the clock in their room.

The elder hero new well enough from firsthand experience that children could get pretty lonely when they had no one their own age to be with, as had been the case for Toon after his arrival a week earlier.

Both Links had been looking forward to being together again, but Toon Link had other reasons to be excited about his return. Outside of Tetra and the children of Windfall Island, Link's closest friend had all been fellow Smashers.

Nana and Popo, Ness, Lucas, and to a lesser extent Diddy Kong, Kirby, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and even Squirtle. They were all "besties" in Nana's words, and would constantly play around and pester the adult fighters with pranks set up all around the Brawl Mansion. But with the exception if Diddy Kong and Kirby, it appeared as though he was the first of his friends to arrive. He had at least expected Ness to be there before him. So here he was, counting down the time it took for one of them to arrive again.

Suddenly, he felt Link's hand on his shoulder and practically jumped out of his skin.

"Whoa, buddy, relax." Soothed the older one, "It sucks seeing you like this. How about you and I go down to the battlefield and set up a few practice matches?"

When the younger swordsman still showed some apprehension, he grinned and added, "We can be on our own team."

"Together?" Toon asked, his face growing brighter already. "Sweet!"

Link chuckled as his bouncy little friend ran out of their room and down the hallway. Toon Link was just as powerful a sword wielder as he, and had managed to surprise even the older Link with just how much brute strength and agility he had. He had to admit, control over the winds was pretty sweet too. But even then, he was still a child, not even properly in his teens. Almost the whole mansion had joined him taken in treating him like their little brother, especially since his return.

But with the exception of maybe the doting Princess Peach, Toon never stayed in the adults too long and really only stayed with his "big brother".

Despite the fact that they had an abundance of time before the tournament officially started (still waiting on several fighters just to show up), everyone was getting ready for the fighting to start, and days like this were so no one got rusty. The two Links arrived at the training area. Master Hand and Crazy Hand randomized the roster as the younger blonde held his breath in anticipation. The two of them seemed to be up against Mario and Bowser.

"Really?" Growled the Koopa King as he turned to the portly plumber. "I only came down here so I could fight AGAINST this mustachioed loser, not WITH him! We've got a score to settle!"

"So you keep saying." Said the calm but authoritative voice of Master Hand, "Unfortunately for you, I make the rules."

"WhICH MeanS YoU goTTA DEAAAAAAAAAAL WitH iT!" Came the disjointed and spastic voice of Crazy Hand, who flew right up to Bowser's face, making the Koopa withdraw slightly.

"Yes, anyway." Continued the more rational hand. "It seems the score HAS been settled, pretty firmly in Mario's favor might I add. Perhaps working side by side with him will give you the insight needed to catch up to him."

"HaaaaaaHahahHahHahHahHahaha, burn." Crazy said, whilst Bowser just groaned and looked exasperatedly at Mario, who in turn gave a satisfied and confident smile.

"Whatever." He grumbled, moving toward the battlefield. "Not like I need the help taking down these green skirted pansies..."

"It's not a skirt!" Link said as he and the other two followed suit. "Why does everyone say that!?"

The two teams wished each other good luck as they skirted to opposite sides of the stage. Master Hand made the starting call.

"5. 4. 3. 2. 1!"

"I got the big one!" Link shouted, lunging to strike Bowser before his counterpart had the chance to make a moves.

Suddenly the Italian plumber hurdled closer to Toon, launching a barrage of fireballs, many of which Toon Link masterfully dodged. A singular weak flame causes a small burn mark on his bright tunic. The boy yelped and ran around in panicked circles before swiftly patting it down. Just then he noticed Mario charging a punch for his face and raised his shield in defense. The knock back caused him to slide before regaining his balance. Looking behind him, he noticed that he had just narrowly avoided getting pierced by Bowser's spiked shell. After making sure Bowser's focus was still on Link Prime, Toon moved to a less precarious position and began shooting several strong arrows. Mario blocked with his shield until the barrage became too much and the orb of energy shrank and broke. Mario was flung into the air and fell back with a thud, becoming dizzy. Toon Link threw a bomb that knocked Mario to the edge of the stage, where the plumber just managed to hold on to the precipice.

Toon moved to finish the job, but suddenly felt a pressure on his head. Bowser had picked him up by the noggin and lifted him off the ground.

"Uh oh." The boy said, after he realized what he was running on was no longer ground but thin air. Before he had the chance to do anything else, he was thrown by the Koopa King right on top of his partner, both Hero's letting out a simultaneous "Ouch."

Picking himself up, Mario dashed towards Bowser and jumped on him, using him as a footstool to gain more altitude, before he came crashing down on the green clad bothers and knocked them several feet away. The two were dangerously close to the edge, as suddenly an assist trophy fell onto the stage. Mario grabs the small container and held it to the sky. A blinding light flickered for a few moments before a small figure formed.

Suddenly a girl appeared who Toon didn't quite recognize, even though he felt like he should. Clad in a red dress, with enormous black pigtails and chocolate-brown eyes, the small girl seem to levitate before touching the ground and raising her staff. Her hair turned bright white and her eyes a blood red. Toon was oddly transfixed by the curious girl, as his partner rose to his feet to continue the fight. Suddenly a large purple cloud emanated from the girl which seemed to be messing with Link, making him trip over himself, suffer excruciating pain, then fall asleep in quick succession. Toon yelped, and rushed to the older boy.

"What're sleeping for, bro?!" He asked. "We're in the middle of a match."

Or at least, that's what he would have asked had the purple cloud not made it so he was speaking in tongues. Having no idea what was coming out of his mouth, Toon looked at the weird girl, who made eye contact with him before giggling to herself at his predicament. Toon turned around just in time to see Mario and Bowser punch he and Link out of the purple cloud and off the stage.

"TEAM RED WINS!" Came the voice of the announcer, accompanied by a heavy metal leitmotif befitting the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"SUck it losERs!" said Crazy Hand to the Green Team, as the fighters exited the battlefield with the two Link's still in a heap on each other. Link groaned as he began to wake up, pushing Toon off him.

"What happened?" He asked groggily.

"We roth." Toon said, before realizing his voice was still messed up. Now however, it sounded as is he had just spilled hot coffee on his tongue. The girl from earlier was still on the stage, and began laughing to herself yet again before finally disappearing.

"Are you theriouth?" Toon lisped, all the while the two victories were seemingly bickering at each other.

"You think you've got it rough, kid?" Bowser said, staring Mario down. "Try having your partner jump on your freakin' head to get a boost! I mean, WHO DOES THAT?"

Mario only rolled his eyes in response, before muttering something in Italian.

"Oooooooh, and now he wants all the credit for the win, too! That was totally my kill! Heck, the girl did more in that fight than you did!"

"Who wath thee?" Toon asked, tapping the giant turtle on the plastron.

"Huh? Oh, I dunno, just some little witch or something. Ask the hands." Bowser said before going back to railing against Mario.

"Who wath thee?!" Toon asked, turning to Master Hand and jumping up and down. "Who wath thee!?"

"And better question," Link interrupted, grabbing Toon and lifting him up by the shoulders, "why is he still talking like that? Say 'aaah'."

"Aaaaaaah." Toon said, shutting his eyes and opening his mouth wide as if at a doctor's appointment.

"No burns." Link said, inspecting his mouth. "No bruises either. Strange."

"That was Ashley." Master Hand stated. "We hired her on as an Assist Trophy. She can be a bit rambunctious. Sometimes she casts curse on fighters the last well past the match. Just for a laugh."

Toon Link giggled at the prospect. This girl sounded cool.

"That's not funny, Toon." Link said, dropping the smaller boy back to his feet. "What if your voice is stuck like that forever, or something?"

"ThEn He'LL jusT HavE to TAke a voW of SilENcE, now WON't He? NOt LIKE you'rE nOt alREAdy usED to IT!"

It was true, both Hylians had been regularly silent before meeting each other, and making a resolution to be more open. It started with just talking around each other, but eventually they both grew comfortable enough to join in on normal conversation. On a good day, Link could even be considered chatty, and Toon Link almost always had something sprawling from his head to his tongue.

"I'll be thine, broseth." Toon said, earning a sigh and a pat on the head from Link.

"Hey." Link asked. "Where's the lounge or whatever for the Assist Trophies? I should talk to Ashley about getting him fixed sooner rather than later."

Master Hand informed the, of where the girl could be found, and the two left, with Link looking tired and Toon looking ecstatic. The hand then returned his attention to Mario and Bowser, who were unbelievably still arguing.

"Will you two behave?" He commanded, smacking Bowser upside the head and yanking on Mario's mustache.

"OW! Dude!"

"My mustache-a!"

"Listen," Link said, as he walked hand in hand down the hall with Toon. "I'm sorry I fell asleep on ya back there."

"Hey don't wowwy abou' it." Toon said with a smile.

"What's got you so happy, huh?" Link asked, getting only a shrug in return.

The two turned a corner, and released each other's hand as they found the Assist Trophies' living quarters.

"Shadow, no." Link said, listing off the helpers as he crossed their rooms. "Lyn, no. Isabella, Lakitu, Kat &amp; Ana, no no no &amp; no. That's funny, Little Mac's room is gone. Poor guy must've got fired."

Toon turned to one door curiously, tilting his head.

"Colo' TB-Game Thithteen? What doeth that even mean?" He asked, pulling open the door, only for a large white floating cube to come flying at him. He shrieked and ducked, as the cube flew across the hall ricocheting and rebounding off walls before it came flying at Link's head. Link deflected the projectile with his shield, sending it careening back into its room whereupon Toon Link quickly locked it back in.

"...Well that was different."

"Ooh, Hey!" Toon said with wide eyes, forgetting all about what just happened as he finally spotted Ashley's room. He knocked eagerly on the door, bouncing on his heels as Link walked over to join him.

"Yes?" Said the raven-haired girl after opening the door. Immediately she grew a small smile at seeing the blondes at her door. "Oh, it's you. I take it you're here about the tongue."

"Yep." Said Link curtly, bringing Toon with his as he stepped in the girl's room and shut the door behind them. Instantly the girl's smile fell.

"Hey, I didn't say you could come into my room!" She growled.

"I can see why." Link said, not at all intimidated. "It's a little cramped in here, don't you think?"

"I fink it'sss really nithe." Toon said earnestly. "I nether really had a room to mythelth until I moved in here the firth time."

Ashley took in what the boy said, blinking silently before bursting out laughing. Toon Link only smiled wider, while the tallest among them scowled.

"I need to use that curse more often!" The girl said in between laughs. "It makes you sound hilarious!"

"You fink so? Fanks!"

"Alright, alright, glad you two could get a laugh in, but can we see about maybe getting rid of that now."

Ashley pondered seriously for a moment. She looked to Toon's smiling face and caved in.

"Ugh, alright." She said, still smiling. She waved her wand at the boy and shouted "Papillaes Hydrostatus Reparendum!"

A shower of sparkles fell over a Toon, and he looked from Ashley to Link silently.

"Well?" They both asked.

"I...think...I think I'm good!" He said excitedly, sharing both a grin and a high-five with Link.

"Alright!" Said Link, opening the door to leave. "Thanks for that Ashley. Just, try not to curse my little brother again, ok?"

Ashley didn't say anything, but crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her gaze to the floor. Link thought she was just miffed at having her fun ruined but the look in her eyes said something different. He couldn't quite pin it down...

"Hey!" Toon said, ignoring his 'brother's cue to leave and instead staring intently at Ashley. "Do you want to hang out later or something? You seem really nice!"

Both Link and Ashley were at a loss for words, and the latter blushed slightly as she wasn't at all used to having people reach out to her in such a way.

"O-ok." She said. "I think you're nice, too. I think... we can be friends."

Then suddenly, her expression grew serious and she poked Toon in the nose.

"And, if you say no, YOU'RE TOAST!"

Toon smiled nervously, while Link face palmed, wondering just what the two of them had gotten into.

**A/N: So this is one of two collabs I'm doing with my brother TheCrampReturns, both being about two cute shippings that have never met in canon. Color Tb-game fifteen is Pong by the way. This takes place just after Toon and Ashley were announced, so anyone announced afterwards haven't appeared yet, like Little Mac. Anyway we hope you enjoyed. **


	2. Chapter 2

"Prime, c'mon lemme go. I just wanna see her." The cat-eyed pre-teen pleaded to his "big brother." After the discovery of a new assist trophy a few days prior, it seemed all Toon Link could do was rave over the red-clad witch known as 'The Great and Powerful Ashley!'

"Bro, last time you 'just wanted to see her'", he said with air quotes, "You ended up making Sonic green! I don't even know how you managed that!"

Toon blushed at the memory of what had occurred just the day before. He wondered if the now correctly colored hedgehog would still be annoyed.

"Well yeah, but come on, you have to admit that it was pretty funny. And, it's not my fault a thread of my cloak fell in that potion thing!" Toon's face flushed. "Please!" He said flashing his most pleading look.

"No," Link groaned, "not the puppy dog eyes! Or, would those be kitty-cat eyes, actually...?"

Eventually he caved, rolling his blue eyes as he let go of his smaller counterpart's shoulder.

"Fine, but I'm taking no responsibility for anything you two screw up, so don't come crying to me, 'kay?" He shooed off his younger brother.

Toon's face lit up as he gave Link Prime a goofy smile, running off and yelping in excitement like a mad man. Link sighed heavily once more, shaking his head and face-palming. Darn, that smile. The way it stuck to the little boy's face made it quite endearing. Yet somewhere in his Triforce-blessed heart, the young man knew that the two small tricksters would get into trouble. Again. And he'd have to get them out of trouble with the other smashers... Again.

He didn't even bother to tell Toon not to stay up too late. In spite of their age difference, both warriors knew the others could stay wide awake for days at a time.

* * *

"Ashley! Sorry I'm late! Prime was being all uncompromising again." Toon chuckled, yelling towards the impatient looking girl as he ran through the large, wide halls of the Brawl mansion.

"Sssshhhhhh! Shut up!" The girl said, her voice raising just above a whisper. "You'll wake him!"

Toon's tilted his head, his puzzled expression asking his question for him. Ashley pointed toward the nearby bed. Toon's face turned to one of giddy excitement as he looked to the sleeping face of their next "target".

Fox McCloud.

"Ooooh." he smirked. "What's the plan?" He inquired.

"It's not McCloud we're after," She said her lips curving upward in a devilish manner, " It's his... reflection device, thing...what's it called again?"

Toon raised a finger as if to answer, before realizing that if he'd ever known the answer to that, he'd long forgotten.

"I forgot."

"Whatever! I've seen him use it, and it looks like it'd be fun to screw around with." She giggled in a way that most people would describe a "maniacal". Toon's smile grew slightly more nervous, though he totally agreed with his friend's sentiment.

"That does sound like it'd make a cool toy." Toon said, staring directly at the pilot's belt. "But, uh, we're gonna give it back before he wakes up, right?"

"Maybe?" Ashley said with a shrug. It was more of a question than a confirmation. "Depends when we get bored. Why, is your worrywart brother rubbing off on you?"

"Well, you know..." Toon said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "He says that you can be a bad influence."

The boy petered out, expecting Ashley to respond. An awkward silence fell when she didn't, and proceeded to look around at anything but the boy, rubbing her arm nervously.

"...Do you think that?" She asked.

Toon grew a panicked look and raised his hands.

"No! No way, I-!"

The boy stopped as Fox stirred in his bed, the duo's volume obviously growing too high.

The two panicked slightly, before Ashley calmed herself, taking a deep breath. "Stand back." She said beckoning Toon Link backward.

"Levioso." She muttered, the red orb on her wand glowing. Slowly but surely the reflector unhooked from the belt and floated over into the expectant hands of the young Hylian.

"Got it!" Toon almost yelped before catching himself. He started trembling with his hands over is mouth, dropping the reflector. Ashley winced at the sound of the shiny metal weapon clanking on the floor. Fox stirred yet again.

"No," he muttered, clearly having some kind of involved dream, "no dad I'm wanna keep my legs..."

The two kids both leaned down to pick up the reflector, their hands brushing as they did.

"Oh..." Toon said, withdrawing his hand and blushing.

"Um...yeah! I mean...yeah, sure." Ashley muttered, her face equally pink.

The two of them stood silently for a moment, before a snore from Fox sent them scurrying down the halls.

Once the two were outside of the building, the pair stopped running, panting a bit. Ashley looked up at her friend, tossing the reflector up and down satisfactorily. She looked curiously as Toon payed no attention to her, looking instead up at the night sky above them. She walked over to him, looking from him to the starry blackness.

"You know," the boy said dreamily, "if there's one think I'm glad I don't have to miss from back home, it's the night sky. Usually, I was too busy rushing around trying to stop Ganondorf to just, look at it. It's...really beautiful..."

Ashley looked again at the boy's face, remarking to herself that she'd never get tired of that little smile of his, before nudging him with a smile of her own.

"Hey Space-Case," she said, snapping Toon back to reality and tossing him the reflector, "let's have some fun!"

With that she leaped backward, Toon admiring her grace as she landed softly and pointed her wand at him. Without warning, she shot a fireball from the wand, Toon yelping as he fiddles with the reflector and narrowly dodges the thing. His hat was not so lucky, and Ashley couldn't stifle the laugh that came as Toon took a moment to realize the tip was still alight.

"AGH! I wasn't ready!" The boy whined as he put the flame out. He then activated the reflector, as he'd seen Fox do countless times. "Ok. Now, I'm ready!"

Ashley let her laughter die down as she fired yet another, much larger fireball, which flew at the boy, before bouncing harmlessly off the prism of light and blew a nearby tree to smithereens. Toon looked up, having crouched slightly unconsciously, as Ashley gave a low whistle of approval.

Grinning, Toon pulled out his boomerang and aiming meticulously, before tossing it. Predictably, it bounced off of the shield, but when the green clad hero avoided it's return it flew in an arc back to the protected girl. It rebounded off the reflector countless times before it flew in a wide enough arc for Toon to grab it, shaking his wrist in slight discomfort.

"Whoa." Ashley said, deactivating the reflector and staring impressed at the boy, holding it close to her chest. "How did you do that? You did do that on purpose, right?"

"Totally." Toon said with a cheerful grin. His eyes then widened, before he ran up to Ashley and grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to a nearby tree. He let go before grabbing a nearby rock and hiking up the tree, not noticing Ashley's intense blush at the contact.

"Turn it on." He said, and Ashley shook her head vigorously before doing just that. Toon then dropped the rock, letting it plummet onto the shield, where it then went rocket back up, then down again and on. It seemed to rise higher and fall faster with every bounce, all the while the two children giggled. After a while, they were certain it wouldn't be coming back down.

* * *

"Move over. Just, to the left a bit."

Ashley did as she was told, before Toon fired an arrow at her, which thanks to her particular angle ricocheted off and hit the bullseye on a target they'd drawn on the tree. The two shared a grin, before Ashley tossed the reflector to Toon and moved over to him slowly.

"Why do you suppose it's only projectiles that get reflected?" She asked, poking him lightly through the field with the end of her wand.

"ACK!" Toon yelled, giggling at the contact. "N-No idea-ah!"

It took Ashley a moment to realize why her prodding had affected him so. Of course he would be ticklish. A devilish smile came to her face as she continued to poke him.

"Wait! W-wait!" The blonde gasped between laughs, "No, come on! Dooooon't."

He ran off, the girl giving chase as neither of them payed much attention to the fact that the sun was rising around them.

That was, until Toon fell into a laughing heap on the ground, looking up at Ashley and admitting how the sunrise shaded the girl.

"Ooh, ooh, catch!" He said, tossing the reflector. Once she had activated it, he tossed a bomb which bounced off haphazardly and went flying into one of the mansion's nearby windows.

The two kids had just enough time to exchange a nervous glance before the bomb exploded and the and a sharp yell could be heard.

"That sounded like a chicken of some kind." Ashley noted.

"I think it was Pit." Toon said. "We should probably apologize."

"Really? I was just going to run."

"TOON LIIIIINK!" Came the yell of both Link Prime and Master Hand from two separate directions.

"Let's run to apologize." Ashley said.

"Right."

Toon took Ashley's hand yet again and the two ran into the building, hoping to avoid any angry authority figures. Toon was slightly more panicked in his gait, while Ashley chuckled at the angelic smasher's misfortune. Unbeknownst to the boy, she stole a glance back at the tree they had used for target practice.

She decided she liked that tree.

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry that both of our crossovers are so late. I got caught up in other fanfics,(including one for my birthday), then I got all lazy/obsessed with Power Rangers and mlp over break, and then I studied/lost sleep with the state test. Darn, I hate the DOE, always keeping the creative minds down.

Back on topic, I'm so sorry, and my brother and I sincerely hope you enjoy. We tried to make Ashley a little Tsundere, so review and favorite if you liked that. Or review, follow and fav, if you liked anything. It's really appreciated...

Okay, I know I'm rambling but does anyone else think Pit sounds like a chicken if you hit him hard enough, or is that just us?

*annoyed death glares from readers*

Okay, I love You, Bye-Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

Toon Link looked at Ashley.

Ashley looked at Toon Link.

The rest of the stadium might not have felt it, but the rush of awkwardness was heavy between the two kids. It was déjà vu all over again. The Assist trophy blushed with embarrassment as she held her red staff shakily, and Toon Link looked around nervously at the rest of the expectant fighters. He bit his lip, rubbed his neck sheepishly and stared at his friend.

The green-clad boy was in the middle of a slugfest when an assist trophy had ceremoniously plopped onto the field. Toon had rushed for it, but found himself punched out by that newfangled orange thing Pit kept on his fist these days. By the time the boy hit the ground with a SPLAT, Pit had raised the item and summoned Ashley onto the battlefield.

"So..." Toon started, "you're not going to, like, set me on fire or twist up my tongue again, are you?"

"No, I mean, of course not." She said. She felt a pat on her shoulder from her angelic summoner. "In a MINUTE, Legolas." She said, rolling her eyes.

Pit recoiled a bit and glared, trying not to be TOO impatient with her on account of the incident from a few days prior. The last thing he needed was to press the girl and wake up with another bomb in his room.

Ashley huffed before crossing her arms across her chest and pouting. She avoided any and all possible eye contact with Toon, searching the fight for another target. This became much easier when Wii Fit Trainer took advantage of Toon's distraction and kicked him in the face.

Flying a few feet away, Toon landed on his back and rolled up to his feet before notching an arrow and firing at the chalky woman.

Ignoring more prompting from Pit, Ashley sighed and sucked on her teeth, before her eyes lit up red and her hair turned stark white and a smile crossed her face.

Something about her smile sent a chill down the spines of the surrounding fighters. Everyone seemed to pale, with the exception of Toon Link and his brother, who by now had become accustomed to the devious smile.

Ashley possessed a sly smirk that seemed to originate from one side of her mouth before seemingly creeping across her lips to infect the other side. It was as if the mirth couldn't contain itself. And in a creepy sort of way Toon found it rather endearing.

Finally making use of her staff, Ashley summoned her signature cloud of purple magic, just as Pit had knocked both Toon and Wii Fit Trainer into its range.

"Finally!" Pit shouted as his opponents fell through the air slowed motion, as if moving through molasses. Before he could take an opportunity to act however, Ashley felt the telltale signs that she was to be retracted from he battle.

"I'll see you soon Toon Link!" She said in an almost uncharacteristically cheery tone. Her gaze was set on Wii Fit Trainer rather than Toon's, however. With that, she vanished.

"Oh, COME ON!" Pit shouted as Toon and Wii Fit Trainer fell to the ground at normal speed, both of them quickly standing up. While Wii Fit a Trainer engaged Pit again, Toon carelessly let his mind wander.

He could definitely tell Ashley was up to something, but he didn't ponder it much as a soccer ball to the head courtesy of the mansion's yoga instructor brought his attention back to the field.

As Toon dropped between his two adversaries and sent them both flying with a Spin Attack. He grinned, but his distraction was fueled by murmurs of rather shaky comments and questions flooding the sidelines.

"What was that? Was she supposed to do that?"

"Oh boy, lil' miss Snarker is at it again."

"Oh no-a, the little raggazza is up no good-a."

Even Pikachu let out a weak cry, as he sit on Samus's lap. The blond beauty groaned in agreement, rubbing her temple. She seemed to understand whatever it was the electric mouse squeaked.

"Mhm. And she's got the little elf boy wrapped around her magic little fingers."

That comment caught Toon Link's attention, and he turned to blow the audience a raspberry until he was red in the face. He tried to ignore the shameful facepalm Link Prime gave in the corner of his eye.

He still couldn't quite wrap his head around everyone's issues with Ashley. Ashley wasn't bad, or mean, or manipulative, or sna- okay so she was snarky. But they were all wrong. Toon Link couldn't help but think about how weird Ashley must have felt had she heard that.

Shaking his head, he tried to resume the fight with Pit.

If there's one thing the combined experience of he and Link Prime taught him, it was that focus was the key to winning a fight.

Toon Link lost that fight.

* * *

"So I was thinking, we could pull a stunt on Wii Fit Trainer, like painting her blue, or green, while she's asleep. Or polka dots or stripes! We could even do their eyes! Do you think that'd hurt?"

Ashley's words droned out, as Toon poked blankly at the bright red wood of his sail boat. He often sat there when he had to think, and every so often Prime would find him curled up sleeping lazily in the chilly night, the disconnected sail draped over Toon like a blanket. If there was one good thing about the newest Smash not having officially started yet, it was that barely anyone made use of the battlefields when not training, so Toon could use the battlefield generator to visit the Great Sea whenever he wanted a moment to himself.

Right now he was lying on his back inside his old boat and traveling companion, staring up at the clouds as Ashley sat beside him.

The King of Red Lions. Maybe that was why he felt like he had met Ashley before. The two were alike, in some ways. Both were a bit snarky and seemed to like noting Toon's flaws. Both were magic. Even though they pointed out his short-comings, they were both his friends, and they both had fun with him. Plus, they both looked rather nice in red.

Does Ashley have friends like that, he wondered. Other than himself.

"So whaddaya think?" Ashley winked confidently at her idea of a prank, snapping Toon from his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah great idea." he said.

Ashley rolled her eyes, aware that her friend had not payed attention.

"The Hand got on my case today." She pouted, glaring out ahead at the expansive ocean around them. "Said that I shouldn't just stand around the battlefield unless I wanna get fired... Sometimes I question my decision to be a career woman."

Toon smirked at this comment, but it quickly dropped as he sat up to look at her.

"What even was that today?" He asked. "I mean.. I know this was the first time we'd been on opposite sides since we met, but why'd you freeze up like that?"

"Why'd YOU freeze up?"

"I was waiting for you to do something!" Toon said, throwing his arms up. "I thought maybe something was wrong with you..."

Ashley sighed and rested her cheek in her palm, not answering.

"...You know I wouldn't be mad if you did your thing, right?" The boy said gently. "I mean, you're just doing your job, and I don't want the Hands on your case-"

"You think I care what they think?" Ashley said with a laugh Toon couldn't help but find forced. "Yeah right, they're just like the other assist trophies, just LOOKING for excuses to get on my case..."

Toon tilted his head curiously. Ashley didn't bring up the other assist trophies often.

"Oh yeah, you do hang out with those guys right? I don't see them around often..." He said, before he feel back a bit harder than he'd meant to and banged his head on the boat.

"Ow!" He whined.

"Ha!" Came a chuckle from Ashley, followed by a small but genuine smile as Toon stuck his tongue out at her.

"I'd like to get to know some of those guys better." Toon continued as Ashley's smile faltered just slightly. "They seem really cool. Think you could introduce me sometime?"

"...Maybe." Was all the girl said, before she too leaned back on the floor of the boat.

"Thanks, for what you said." Ashley eventually added with a giggle. "Now I know I don't have to take it easy on you with the spells."

"Anything beats getting turned into a spoon." Toon said, joining in on her laughter.

* * *

A/N: So this ones a bit shorter, and were gonna start to delve bit more into Ashley's character. Sorry this took a while, but we actually wrote chap 4 before we wrote 3, so that'll be up shortly.


	4. Chapter 4

"This place is weird." Toon Link said, following Ashley through to the 'Assist Hub'. Ashley had mentioned the place in passing several times, and Toon had finally gotten curious enough to ask for a look-see. The pair waited to make certain they weren't being watched before they snuck their way to the mansion's basement.

"I didn't even know we had a basement." The blonde muttered, observing the series of large harnesses lining the walls.

"That doesn't sound like the kind of thing Master Hand would neglect to tell you about... Unless you just forgot. That sounds like something you'd do."

Toon stared at her deadpan, before turning his attention back to the harnesses. "What're all these thingies for?"

"Oh, those are how we enter a match, if an assist trophy gets picked up."

Toon looked intrigued, but also confused.

"How does THAT work?" He asked, running a hand down one.

"Dunno. Me and the other assists each get in a harness, then if the item is picked up it triggers some weird thing and one of us is sent to the stage at random. It's all really magitek and...weird."

"I...I don't know what that is."

"I figured you wouldn't. I could literally fill a thesaurus with words you don't know."

To an outsider, the dig might have seemed mean-spirited, but Toon was used to teasing from his friend by now, and merely responded with sticking out his tongue. Ashley snorted, and the two shared a small smile, before the sound of barking brought their attention to the entrance.

A golden retriever puppy came bounding down the stairs, yip ping delightedly at the sight of the two children. It pawed at Ashley, who stepped away from it hesitantly. Toon noticed this, as well as the fact that her smile seemed to have dropped, before a series of other voices stopped him from asking what was wrong. Suddenly, the whole flock of Ashley's fellow assist trophies entered the room, amongst them the chattering Kat-Ana sisters, who were talking sword tactics with Lyn, as well as Phosphora who was holding and doting on Riki, and Dillon, who was arguing with Jeff.

"No, I DIDN'T ripoff the Spindash. Sonic didn't PATENT, curling up in a ball, you know? That's not even a hedgehog thing!"

Speaking of hedgehogs, Shadow entered the room with Magnus, the two discussing who was more annoying out of Sonic and Pit. Magnus, with his massive strength, was tasked with carrying the normally stationary Starman and Mother Brain into the room, the former tucked under one arm and the latter hefted above his head with the other.

Toon was too busy admiring the feat of strength to notice the smiling cloud that had settled next to he and Ashley. The blonde yelped in surprise when Lakitu popped his head out from the cloud, glaring at him.

"He can't be in here!" He said, keeping everything below his shifting eyes hidden. "Can he be in here? He should go. What if he messes up the harnesses or something?"

"That makes literally no sense." Said Hammer Bro, rolling his eyes as he joined his fellow Mushroom Kingdom denizen. "How would him just being here mess with the harness?"

"I dunno, but it could happen! It's just safer if he's out! It is, right? Someone tell me I'm right!"

"He's a fighter, he can stay if he wants." Ashely grumbled, not looking directly at either of the Koopa Kin. "It was my idea to bring him here in the first place..."

"Eep!" Cried Lakitu, sinking further into his cloud. "I knew it was her idea! I told you she was trouble! She's trying to sabotage us-!"

Hammer bro clamped a hand on Lakitu's mouth, stuffing it through the mouth of the cloud in the process.

"Look," he said, ushering himself and Lakitu off, "your friend can stay, just don't lay one of your weird witchy curses on us, k?"

"We really need to talk about that paranoia of yours." Came the floating holographic head of Dr. Kawashima, looking slyly at Lakitu as they moved away.

"GAH! I am not paranoid!" Lakitu yelled, before the sound of a barking Chain Chomp sent him flying away screaming. Waluigi, who was currently holding the Chomp by its chain, laughed hysterically at the cloud-bound Koopa.

Toon Link gave Ashley a questioning look, but his questions got no answers as she simply looked away from him. Toon couldn't help but involuntarily shudder just then, as Girahim and Skull Kid walked/floated by his in succession. For reasons he couldn't really control, those two BOTHERED him. As did Tingle, who's line of sight he avoided by hiding behind Ashley.

"Careful...careful!" Came the voice of Isabelle, who entered the room by slipping and falling down the last few stairs while carrying a stack of fruit and papers.

"...ooow." She groaned, before the Imp Midna floated down and used her enchanted hair to pick up the other girl.

"Geez, Izzy, you're such a klutz..."

"Oh, hey Midna!" Toon called with a wave. Midna had been close with Link Prime, and so the two were already well aquatinted.

"Heyo, Shortround!" She said cheerily, placing Isabelle back on her feet. She spotted Ashley next to him and snickered.

"Watch out for that one, little man. She's a wild. card. Better run before she curses you!" The imp then burst out laughing, oblivious to the daggers Ashley was throwing with her eyes. "Who knows, maybe she'll curse you to look like me!"

On that last word, she warped her face into a twisted version of Toon Link's own, sending shivers down the boy's spine. As she laughed again, Ashley brushed past Toon Link and walked over to the nearest harness, entering it without saying a word to anyone.

"I take it there's a match starting?" Toon said to no one in particular, though he was looking at Ashley.

"Yep." Lyn said, hooking into her own harness as the others did the same. "And this one's a doozy. It's an 8-person smash!"

"...say what?"

"An idea by the Master Hand." Said the warrior Takamaru. "If this test run is successful, it will likely become a permanent feature."

"Haha! No way!" Shouted Toon. "Is it starting now? I have to see this!"

"As do I!" Midna shouted enthusiastically. "Anyone who isn't hooked up, put the match on the screen."

"I got it!" Elec Man said, placing his hands on the harness and sending a bolt of electricity that travelled up through the walls and to the screen on the far side of the room, turning it on. On the Big Battlefield stood the original 8 Smash fighters: Mario, Link, Kirby, Pikachu, Samus, Donkey Kong, Fox and Yoshi, preparing to duke it out.

"Alright!" Devil said with a wide grin. "Place your bets, ladies and gents!"

As assist trophies all around clamored to make their bets on who would win, Ashley remained silent, refusing to look at anyone.

Once the fight finally started, it was only a matter of time before someone picked up an Assist Trophy. The crowd in the basement whooped excitedly, as the fighters rushed to pick the item up.

"Oh-hooo, check this out kid!" Midna said to Toon Link as Yoshi made use of his incredibly long tongue to grab the trophy from right under Mario and Fox. In the split second that Yoshi grabbed the item, a beeping sound drew all eyes in the room over to Phosphora, who had a green light glowing below her harness.

"Oooh, this is gonna be-!" She started before she was transported from the basement to the battlefield in a flash of light so bright Toon had to cover his eyes.

* * *

Phosphora's eyes lit up as they transitioned from the darkened basement to the bright sky of the Battlefield. She grinned down at the excitable green dinosaur who called her and grinned.

"Yes, you called?" She said in a teasing voice, before bringing a rain of thunder and lightning down on the nearby Mario and Fox. Having already accumulated some damage, the two were sent flying, left to make their own way back to the stage. Fox, unlike Mario, was lucky enough to manage this. Phosphora meanwhile warped around the stage, gleefully zapping the other fighters with bolts of electricity.

An idea sprung to the ethereal warrior's head when she noticed Donkey Kong getting particularly mad at her. Making use of her time left on the stage, she teleported in front of Kirby and called out to the ape.

"YOOHOO!" She called with a wave. "I'm over here, big guy!"

DK rushed over to her and prepped a punch at the blonde girl. With a taunting face, Phosphora warped out of the way. Kirby turned around just in time to be punched into the stratosphere.

* * *

Back downstairs, Phosphora returned in another flash of light.

"It's a madhouse up there!" The blonde said.

"Smooth moves." Midna congratulated. "That last bit was hilarious!"

"Can we do that!?" Came Lakitu's jittering voice. "Is she allowed to do that? What if she gets in trouble? What if we ALL get in trouble? I can't- I just can't right now!"

"Well," Phosphora said airily, looking over her nails, "I have a history of irritating upper management, so whatever happens shouldn't be anything too new."

"I thought it was awesome!" Toon said, brining the attention of the room back to himself.

"Awwww." Phosphora cooed. "Thanks, little man. See, cloud-for-brains, the kid likes it."

"So? He hangs out with that witch!"

Back on the screen, Donkey Kong looked somewhat apologetic for punching Kirby out, before he was wrangled into a grab by Samus.

"Wasn't that great, Ashley?" Toon said.

Ashley, for what seemed liked the first time, took her gaze off the floor to meet Toon's.

"You should finish watching upstairs, Toon."

"W-what?"

"Just go." Her eyes went back to the floor. "I'll talk to you later."

"Ummmm..." Toon said, tapping his fingers together and moving slowly to the exit. "If that's what you want... Bye, guys"

As the green clad boy went up the stairs, several of the others glanced awkwardly at the little witch. Seeing their stares, Ashley narrowed her eyes and scowled.

"WHAT!?" She shouted.

The others started, before quickly returning to either address Phosphora or the screen, leaving Ashley to her own thoughts.

* * *

A confused little Toon Link sat on one of the many couches upstairs, sitting next to Diddy Kong, who was happily cheering on DK as he smacked around Pikachu.

"Hey Diddy." He said, slouching down. "I just saw where the assist trophies do that...that thing they do."

He realized that didn't say much when the monkey looked confused at him.

"I mean...it was weird. It was...yeah, yeah weird."

"Trust me, I know." Said Little Mac, sitting next to the other two. "It's a madhouse down there."

Toon Link nodded, before suddenly bolting upright and staring at the boxer.

"HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE!?"

* * *

The match ended with Samus coming out victorious, and the 8 fighters exited the Battlefield looking worn and weary.

"Haha! I called it!" Pit said, fluttering up to Samus after branding some coins off a disgruntled

"Smart." Said the bounty hunter, pulling off her helmet. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Her smile grew as Pikachu jumped up onto her shoulder and nuzzled her.

"Hey little guy. I didn't beat you down too hard, did I?"

The electric mouse made a sound akin to sarcasm, as the trio walked off.

"You know that never would've happened in year one, right?" Fox whined, rubbing his face tiredly. As he did, Diddy Kong leapt off the couch and onto his larger friend, Link flopped down in his place next to Toon.

"You did great Prime!" Toon congratulated, earning a smile from his elder.

"Thanks, little man. Hey, where'd you go off to this morning?"

"Oh, Ashley took me to the Assistance Trophy place!"

"...Hah?"

"The place where they do the thing! You know...?"

Toon then suddenly realized that with the match over, Ashley would be free again.

"Hang on, bro, I'm gonna go find her."

"Of course." Link said deadpan as the younger one ran off.

Yoshi walked by, taking note of Fox eyeing him through his fingers.

"You." Fox said, being shocked by Phosphora fresh in his mind. "You and me. One on one. Final Destination. No assist trophies."

Yoshi gulped.

* * *

After failing to find her for a long time, Toon finally spotted Ashley sitting at 'their' tree outside the mansion. He moved over to sit down next to her, taking note of her sullen appearance.

"You, uh... You ok?"

The girl nodded, but her body language seemed to suggest otherwise.

"So..." He said, tapping his thumbs together awkwardly. "Those other assist trophies...they're pretty cool, right."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Cool."

"I think you guys actually outnumber us fighters. For now, anyway. Ooh, yeah! Mac's back! Did you know about that?"

"They all hate me."

"They- I, uh, what?" Toon asked, his train of thought thoroughly derailed by his friends sudden comment.

"Wh-who?"

"The other assist trophies!" She was louder now, looking at Toon with a teary glare. "Don't act like you haven't noticed! They can barely stand me..."

"That's ridiculous." Toon said. "Why would they hate you? They all seem really friendly-"

"To you, maybe! To them, I'm just the witch! The one who causes trouble, the one who ruins everybody's day..." The girl breathed in deep, willing herself to look away from the boy next to her. He looked... she didn't know how he looked, but it wasn't a look she was used to getting.

"Toon..." She said. "I know I can be... abrasive, sometimes, but...the truth is having friends is all I've ever really wanted. I just wish I wasn't so BAD at making them, you know? Everything I do to try and have fun- cast a spell, brew a potion, whatever. It just turns people against me. I wanted to be friends with- with EVERYONE, if I'm honest. But I just can't..."

Toon stared down at the ground, unsure what to think or say.

"I've been having, er...trouble, making friends, too." He said finally. "At least, since all of my old ones left..."

"Are you kidding me?" Ashley asked incredulously. "EVERYONE likes you! You're practically adored by everyone. Plus, you have your big brother spending ever day with you. I don't have anything like that."

Toon rose a hand hesitantly, before placing it on her shoulder.

"You have me."

Ashley pulled her knees close to her chest, burying her face in them.

"And you know, I'd love to spend every day with you-"

The boy was stopped when Ashley sprang up and tackled him in a hug. The boy blushed and stammered a bit at the sudden action, but gripped her just as tightly.

"A-and you know what, if they hate you, or whatever...forget them! They don't really know you, because anyone who did would know that your awesome! A-and I think your pranks and stuff are the best."

"You really think so?" Ashley asked, pulling back to look him in the eye.

"Totally! You're the Great and Powerful Ashley for Pete's sake!"

"Y-yeah...yeah, I am!"

"And it doesn't matter what they think, because I'm behind you 100 percent!"

"Yeah! Yeah, screw them! I don't need them. Not when I've got the best friend I could ask for already."

"Erm, well I-I don't know about that-" Toon said, brushing the back of his head.

"No, you are! And if I can make you happy, then I must be doing something right! It's THEIR fault for not realizing how great I am! Not mine! Come on!"

With that, she grabbed he boy by the hand and dragged him off.

"Wait, wait a second! What're we doing!?"

"We're gonna lay a spell on those guys so bad they're gonna wish they never made me feel bad!"

"We are? I- I mean, yeah, we are!"

As the girl dragged him off, Toon couldn't help but think this was a bad idea.


	5. Chapter 5

Toonley chapter 5

Ashley stalked gleefully through the halls, looking for her partner in crime. Barely a day earlier had they been discussing plots to take her peers down a peg, and the young witch believed she had just the spell to do it. Toon Link hadn't been in his room however, and Link Prime hadn't been very upfront about his location when she asked. Ashley had the distinct impression the Hylian didn't trust her with the well being of his younger counterpart, given her reputation as a _troublemaker._ She _also_ had the impression she should prove him right by laying a curse on as well.

The girl's attention was caught by a familiar flash of green and blonde amongst a sea of pink, and backtracked slightly to see her target in the room of none other than Princess Peach. Toon Link sat cross-legged on the floor, the Princess crouched behind him and meticulously braiding the back of his hair.

"So," Toon was saying, "You've been sending letters to everyone, right?"

"Mhmm." The Princess said with a nod. "Same as I always do."

"Any replies?" Toon asked hopefully.

"Only a few." Peach said, her face affixed in a soft smile. "Roy wants back in, again. Falco's confidant he'll get back in once he's-"

"Anything on Ness and Lucas?" The boy bursts out, turning to face the pink clad monarch. The princesses face falls just a bit, and she shakes her head.

"I'm sorry... They said him but there's nothing new on if either of them are in or not..."

"Oh." Is all Toon says, turning away again.

"I'm sorry." Peach repeats, before her smile returned. "But on the bright side, there's another newcomer arriving today, she's a friend of mine, and I think you'll like her a lot."

Before Toon could respond, a sharp cough brought the attention of both blondes to the witch at the door.

"I'm taking him." Ashley said, pointing squarely at Toon Link, who's face went from disappointment to the very picture of delight at the young girl's presence. He hopped to his feet and rushed over to her.

"Sorry Peach, I'll let you finish my hair later! Me and Ashley are working on something."

"That's quite alright." Peach says, giving the pair a knowing smile. "Say Ashley, why don't let me work on your hair sometime, too?"

Ashley seemed caught off guard by this request. "...I'll consider it." She said, eyes downcast as she blushed and rubbed her arm, before dragging Toon out of the room and slamming the door shut. She then whips her head up to Toon.

"I've got the spell we need." She said.

* * *

"I started out looking for a spell to afflict the lot of them with." Ashley said, pulling Toon Link through the Assist Trophies' room they had been in only the day before. "Maybe make them all puke up their lunch or something."

Toon Link gave a slight retch at Ashley's choice of words, but ignored his momentary disgust to focus on the rest of her words. Ashley was easily at her most enthusiastic when talking magic, especially that designed to make others miserable. He was honestly still apprehensive about retaliating against the other Assist a Trophies, but seeing how genuinely upbeat and excited ashley was over the prospect mulled most of his worries.

"But then I realized," Ashley said, "it'd be way better to mess them up on the job. So instead, I found a little curse to lay on the harnesses. You'd be surprised how hard it is finding spells and hexes that work on machinery..."

"What does the curse do?"

"Ooooh, you'll see. Now let's hurry it up, I don't want us caught in here before the next match starts."

Raising her wand, Ashley began muttering in that weird magicky language she had. As she did, thick red smoke filled the room, rushing around the two children. Toon Link eyed the smoke warily, as it quickly began to overtake literally everything else in the room. Instinctively, he reached his hand out to Ashley whilst he could still see her, and at the exact same moment the witch did the same. The two let each other's presence anchor them, as Ashley's incantation got louder and louder. The room was one giant swirl of red at this point. The cloud then separated and flowed into the nooks and crannies of the machines, flooding in before there was no trace that anything had happened.

Without a word, the two exchanged a glance and ran out of the room, not bothering to disengage their hands.

* * *

"Where have you two been?" Link asked casually, sitting nonchalant with other fighters and drawing a high five from Toon's free hand.

"Is there a fight starting?" Toon asked, ignoring the question and letting his line of sight join the others' on the tv screen.

"Yeah." Link Prime stated. "It's an inaugural thing for the newcomer."

The Hylian looked from Ashley to her and Toon's intertwined hands then back again.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" He asks her.

Suddenly self-conscious about holding Toon's hand, Ashley pulled her own away and crossed her arms.

"I'm taking a day off." Is all she said.

Everyone around them was sat in anticipation for the fight. Wii Fit Trainer sat cross legged with Villager snugly in her lap and Megaman standing stock still next them. Little Mac sat hunched toward the screen, as Zelda was leaning over the couch Link sat on. In the far corner stood Ganondorf, while sharing popcorn on another couch were Samus and Pit, Pikachu nestled between the two of them. Fox was glaring at the screen studiously, while next to him Peach and Luigi sat, the latter as it suddenly displayed and platforming travelling across the nebulous Rainbow Road.

"LADIIIIIIEEEES!" Came the voice of Crazy Hand over the intercom. "And also, gentleman. TOdaY we have A VEry SpEcial fight for Your EYEs . YoU betteR pUt HARnesses on them, caUse I'm about, to FrEaking, BLAST them into the StrAtosphEre."

Ashley rolled her eyes and Toon Link snickered as the Hand continued.

"IIIIIIIIIn this cornER," he said as Mario appeared on the traveling platform. "We HAve the ONe, the OnlY, The GreAAAAAat GONzoleeeeeeeeeeeeezzzz!"

Next to appear were Kirby and Donkey Kong, both looking gleeful to rumble.

"Also there's these two punks, BuT WHO CARES, amiRITE!? ONto The NEwbie!"

The next to appear on the stage was a...rather, _INCREDIBLY_ tall woman in a blue gown. Her platinum blonde hair was similar to Peach, but with a long fringe covering one of her radiant blue eyes. Floating next to her was a small yellow star creature.

"WeLCome TO the PARTy, ROSALINAAAAAAA, AAAAAAAND LUMAAAAAAAAaaaAhAHAHAHhhaHa-"

In the lounge room, Peach was yelping and bouncing in her seat ecstatically.

"Go Rosie!" She yelled, Luigi cheering along with her.

As the fight started, Ashley looked on curiously, eyes focused on Rosalina. She was so caught up in watching the Galatic maiden that she hardly noticed when Toon was pulled into a sitting position next to his brother.

Rosalina fired her little companion at the other fighters,where it engaged with Kirby and left the woman to fight DK and Mario.

"It's-a nice-a to see you here, Rosie!" Mario said as he narrowly missed a flying punch at Rosalina.

"It's nice to BE here, Mario." Rosalina said, avoiding more attacks from the plumber and turning just in time to block an attack from a grinning DK.

"Oh, it's very good to see you too, DK." She said sincerely before swiping her wand and sending the ape backwards. Turning back around to check on Luma, Rosalina, Mario, and Donkey Kong all sighed as they saw the star creature and Kirby dancing playfully instead of fighting.

* * *

In the Assists' room, they too were observing the fight, yet again betting on the outcome and discussing the newcomer. Things went silent as on the stage appeared an assist trophy, with Mario quickly grabbing it and holding it aloft.

The light above Midna's harness went off, and the imp cackled before...absolutely nothing happened.

"Uh..." Midna said, deflated. "'S it broken?"

Suddenly, Midna was shocked by the sputtering machine.

"AUGH!" She yelled, as she was shocked repeatedly. "agAughauahgagaugahaguhaaugauaguahagagagOW!"

* * *

After a moment of confusion, Midna finally arrived on the stage, looking fried and just a bit dizzy.

"Well that was different." She mutters after shaking her head. Focusing on the battle, she stretches her hair out to grab DK. The ape however looked at her with narrowed eyes and grasps her hair in his own hand.

"What." Is all Midna has time to say before she is swung around by the primate and tossed off the stage, shouting as she falls with a smack on an asteroid below.

Midna was quickly sent back to her harness, where she dropped her head with a weary and resounding thud. The noise was enough to make the other assist trophies cringe, having previously been entirely silent.

...

"THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Magnus yelled.

* * *

In the fighters' lounge, Ashley and Toon Link shared a high five along with a pair of wide grins. Most of the other fighters were murmuring in confusion, while Link was simply looking at the children with a raised eyebrow.

"COME ON, ROSIE!" Yelled Peach, snapping everyone's attention first to her, then back to the fight. Apparently Peach hadn't bothered to pay any attention to the odd happenings with Midna. Quietly, Ashley stepped over to where Peach was sitting and stood nearby, the two's eyes perfect parallels as they followed Rosalina in battle.

* * *

More and more the battle raged on, as the Assist Trophies were too busy questioning Midna to pay it any mind.

"What WAS that?"

"Are you ok?"

"How did the monkey pull that one off."

"He's not a monkey, you know that right?"

Midna silenced them with a raised hand, before replying.

"I...don't...know."

They continued to watch the fight, everyone noticeably more apprehensive, the squabbling over bets long passed.

Eventually, it was just Rosalina and Kirby on the field, when another Assist Trophy spawned in the battlefield. Those in the room held their breath, as Kirby sprinted for the item. Using a move of hers, however, Rosalina pulled the item to herself and held it upward. All eyes in the room turned to the nearest source of noise, which happened to be above Lakitu's jittering head.

"OH, NO." Said the cloud-bound Koopa, before he too was shocked in a similar way to Midna.

"AUGHAUAGAUGAUGGUGUG!" He yelled as lightning coursed through his veins. The fact that his cloud picked up and amplified the electricity (complete with the sounds of thunder) made the experience even worse for him than it was for Midna.

And then, he was gone.

* * *

Many of the stages accessible through the mansion had been closed to fighters for "construction purposes". One of these was Big Blue, which was still open for standard F-Zero racing. Today's current race had Octoman leading the pack.

Or rather, he WAS leading the pack until a Lakitu spontaneously appeared in his cockpit. Both the racer and the intruder yelled out in high-pitched terror as control of the vehicle was lost and the two were sent careening off the track and into the water below.

* * *

On the battlefield, both Kirby and Rosalina were so distracted by the lack of assistance that the latter took the opportunity to charge a smash attack that sent Kirby flying out of the stage.

In the lounge, Peach and Ashley erupted in cheers, as everyone else was left to puzzle what on Earth just happened,

As the fighters exited the stage, Luigi took the time to congratulate his brother on third place, earning only a glare in return. Kirby simply walked off toward the nearest source of food, having worked up quite the appetite, and both DK and Diddy were chattering feverishly to Master Hand, who had arrived on the scene a moment earlier.

"No," the hand said calmly, "you DON'T get extra points for taking down Midna. I'm still not even sure how you did that."

The hand then heard some chatting nearby, and saw Rosalina being greeted by Peach, with Ashley in tow.

"Oh Rosie," Peach said, clapping her hands and bouncing ecstatically. "It's so good to see you here! I can't believe the Hands decided to add you in."

"I'm glad to see you as well Princess." Said Rosalina. Sharing a smile, the two mock-bowed to each other with a shared chuckle. Looking up, Rosalina's attention was caught by Ashely.

"Who's this little one?" She asked, prompting Peach to look down at Ashley and push the younger girl forward.

"This is Ashley. She's one of the assist trophies. Ashley, say hi to Rosalina!"

Ashley opened and closed her mouth as if trying to firm the right words. She knew she shouldn't a grudge against Peach for shoving her into this situation...but she probably would.

"I think she's a little shy." Rosalina said, making Ashley blush. "But that's alright. You can talk to me whenever you're ready. I won't push you."

With that, the two blondes continued their talk away from the young witch, who stood awkwardly for a moment before she was pulled into a twirl by Toon Link.

"I think your plan worked!" Toon said excitedly. "I still have no idea what you did! You're gonna have to explain it all to me!"

"Yes..." Came a second voice before Ashley could respond. The two kids turned to see Master Hand looming over them.

"You'll have to explain it to me as well."

**A/N: SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER! ... Sorry. But that does mean more fic including this and Baccano! **

**Also try to catch our game theory refs and Pit/Samus shipping. So Anyhoo ...**

**SCHOOL BEEN BLOWN TO PIECES!~**


	6. Chapter 6

After Ashley is left in a grumpy mood after the Hands threaten to keep her and Toon separated, the Links sneak her out for a ride aboard the Spirit Train. Toon invites Rosalina as well, and spends most of the ride with Link Prime rather than Ashley. He doesn't tell her at the time, but he does this so Ashley can be used to being distanced from him and have another friend should the hands follow through on their threat.

"Psst!" Link heard as he was shoved repeatedly out of his sleep. "Hey. Hey Prime! Get up!"

The older Link blinked his eyes open and turned to see Toon standing by his bed. Both boys were in their sleepwear, which happened to consist of baggy light blue shirts for the both of them. This coincidence had actually driven them both into a fit of giggles the very first time they'd shared a room.

"What is it Toon?" Link asked, sitting up in his bed. He was used to getting very little sleep, so he really wasn't very perturbed.

"We need to steal a train."

Now he was perturbed.

"Is this an Ashley thing?" He asked, looking like Toon had just punched him in the face.

"Yeah. But she doesn't know about it, so don't tell her yet."

Link rubbed his face, before following his brother out of the room in confusion.

* * *

"You want to hijack the Spirit Train for a joy ride?" Link whispered incredulously as he and Toon tip-toed past the other fighters' rooms.

"Yup."

"Ok...why?"

Toon Link hesitated a moment before answering.

* * *

Early that day, Toon and Ashley both sat in Master Hand's office. Whilst Ashley was looking intently at her own feet, Toon gazed around the room curiously. On the shelf he could see trophies of every single fighter, with space open for more. Something in the corner of the room looked almost like medicine, and needles. He tilted his head before Master Hand's voice brought his and Ashley's attention.

"I'm not going to lie." Master Hand said, pacing on his middle and index fingers. "I'm disappointed in the two of you."

The two kids each felt a shiver down their spines. The Hand's voice wasn't particularly loud, or deep, but it still managed to command as much authority as was possible. It was incredibly clear, cold, ALMOST emotionless, but with just enough humanity and levity in it that he seemed approachable. No one was sure WHERE exactly his voice even came from, and no matter where he was it almost sounded like it was coming from the room itself.

"I'd trusted you, the same way I trust ALL of you, to follow the very simple rules of this house. Rule number one is and always will be No Outside Interference With Matches. If it's too much to ask that you keep your petty squabbles off the battlefield I see no way to interpret that than as an affront to my hospitality."

"But-!"

"BUT, seeing as matches are still in practice, I will let you both off with a warning. Know this, children; I'm aware of your relationship, and I know, whether or not you realize, that you're pattern of mischievous behavior is sustained BY that relationship. Neither of you would've done something quite so brazen before meeting each other. Should either of your actions become a problem again, I may just have to separate the both of you indefinitely."

Toon's face shifted from shock, to anger, to sadness, faster than he could keep track. He wanted to leap out of his seat and yell that the hand couldn't do that, but of course he could. He turned over to Ashley, and was startled by the look of silent, wide-eyed panic on her. She too locked like she wanted to say something but was keeping herself tight lipped.

"You're free to go." Master Hand's voice startled them both again, and they left as quickly as possible.

Ashley had been nearly silent the whole rest of the day, and when it was time to head off to bed she still seems rather dejected.

* * *

"So...you think a train ride is gonna make her feel better?" Link Prime asked, after Toon had explained everything.

"Yeah. No assist trophies have gotten on the Spirit Train, and I thought maybe being the first and the view and all might cheer her up..."

"Ok." Link said as he smiled at his younger counterpart. "Count me in."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Look, I might not be the biggest Ashley-fan around, but she makes you happy, and who am I to say no to cheering up a friend, no matter the risk?"

Toon had to do his best to keep quiet as he hopped up and down before hugging Prime's waist.

"I'll go get her!" He said when he finally let go. "You wake up Rosalina and meet us there!"

"Got it!" Prime whispered as Toon ran off. "Wait...Rosalina?"

* * *

Ashley wasn't entirely sure why/how she found herself sitting awkwardly next to Rosalina as the two Links fiddles around with the operating mechanism of the Spirit Train mere feet away from them. She had only just gotten herself to sleep when Toon had gently nudged her awake. She was barely conscious for his explanation of what they were doing, but was snapped into alertness when they had met up with Link and Rosalina of all people in front of a large steam train.

"Are you certain I'm not intruding?" Rosalina asked gently. "If this is something you'd like to keep between brothers-"

"No!" Toon said, waving his arms at the much, much taller woman. "It's imperative that you stay here!"

Rosalina blinked, before giggling at the small child. "If that's the case, then stay is what I'll do."

Toon nodded happily, before Ashley pulled him aside.

"Seriously," she whispered, glancing nervously between him and Rosalina, "what is going on."

"It's just some harmless fun. You seemed pretty bummed out when you went to bed, so I just wanted to do something to cheer you up."

Ashley just stared at the boy, unsure of how to respond. She didn't get the chance before suddenly the train had begun moving. Toon rushed over to his counterpart at the front, moving to take the conductors position.

The train started off slowly at first, but before Ashley knew it they had picked up speed, and we're soon careening through the fields and past the forests. She and Rosalina both backed up into their seats, caught between fear and excitement not unlike one on a roller coaster. The blonde brothers up front hollered with glee, looking first to each other and then to the track ahead of them, their hair whipping around violently with no green caps to limit them.

Ashley had to poke her head out the window to see that they were headed for what looked like ocean, the track still running right on top of it. It wasn't long before they were rushing over it, and the train slowed just enough for them to appreciate the beauteous view.

Ashley looked out on the shimmering water, and found herself gasping out as a killer whale of all things flew from out of the sea. Rosalina cooed alongside her as the beast arced back down with a mighty splash. Ashley raised a hand to cover her face, despite the smile growing on it.

"Hey Ash!" She heard, turning to see Toon giving a double peace sign as Link held him upside of the side of the train. Ashley almost panicked, before Link dunked Toon's head in the water and she got the idea. She hesitated for just a second, before tugging at Rosalina's dress and bringing her attention to what the boys we're doing. Rosalina nodded with a kind smile, and went over to join them. Ashley blushed in embarrassment when she was picked up off the ground, but that feeling soon went away when her head was under the water. The noise of the train was suddenly muted and her vision was filled with colors; schools of fish, coral reefs, sea turtles, Dolphins, even more whales all rushed by her, the light of the morning sun refracting through everything around them. She was so wrapped up in the gorgeous view that she didn't even make note of the rushing water having pushed off her hair ties.

Glancing to her side, she saw Toon, smiling that stupid smile of his. Ashley began to smile even more broadly herself, and when she and him locked eyes they both felt as though they'd never stop smiling.

Just before they could run out of air, Link and Rosalina pulled them up and placed them back safely on their feet. The two sputtered, and Ashley found her freed hair was plastered to her face. She made to move it herself, but before she could she felt Toon do it instead. With both his hands he parted the thick black locks from her face, his hands gently grazing her cheeks in the process. The two locked eyes again, and Ashley grabbed his hands before slowly removing them from her face.

The two stayed like that for a second, before both bursting out into a fit of giggles. Ashley let go of Toon's hands and turned away from him, still laughing as she wiped off her face with her sleeve.

"Coming up near the Lava Temple, Toony!" Link yelled from the front.

"Ooh, that should dry us off!" Toon said, rushing to Link's side as Ashley found herself sitting down again to catch her breath, if her laughter would let her. A small sound brought her attention to Luma, who was being held in its usual position in Rosalina's arms.

"Th-this is, um...Luma, right?" She asked, looking up with some effort at Rosalina herself.

"Yes." The celestial nodded, looking with nothing but patience and kindness at the girl, expecting that she wanted to continue.

"Um...what IS he? She? It?"

"Hmmm." Rosalina thought hard for a minute. "I'm not sure if I can really answer that in a satisfying way. There are so many of them, and I guess all that matters is they're my family."

Ashley brought her focus back to the Luma, poking it gently. It made a giggling sound, wrestling out of Rosalina's grasp and spinning around joyously. Ashley smiled yet again, but the sound of exploding made her and her spatial companions look to the other side of the train. Toon was pointing excitedly at the active volcano they happened to be moving past. He and Link gestured for the others to step over, and as they did Ashley found herself in awe of not only that, but the pieces of falling debris that fell from the volcano. The whole spectacle was just far enough to avoid causing any harm (though Rosalina took Luma back into her arms anyway), but close enough to light up the whole train car a beautiful orange. All five occupants stood mesmerized by the sight, before they eventually passed it by.

The rest of the trip consisted of much of the same, with Ashley slowly allowing herself to speak more and more easily with Rosalina, while the Links played the role of present the many sights to be seen.

* * *

Why Rosalina had opted to take her own way back to her room, Toon and Link took Ashley back to her own.

"I hope you're gonna be ok...?" Toon asked hopefully as they were outside her door. He didn't get a verbal answer, but rather Ashley clutching him to herself in a tight hug.

"That was the best thing anyone's ever done for me." She said quietly, before pulling away and looking at the two heroes. "Thank you. Both."

Giving them one last smile, she closed the door to her room and left them to return to their own.

"I'm not gonna lie," Link said as they did, "I may not like her getting you n trouble, but that was pretty sweet."

Toon only gave a toothy grin in return, as if to say 'I know, right?'

"I have to ask though," the elder continued as they reached the door, "why bring Rosalina along?"

Toon's smile fell completely as he entered the room, thinking on the best way to answer that. Sitting on his bed, hugging his legs, he shrugged slightly and said,

"Ashley likes her. A lot. I figure I should help her make a new friend in case the Hands...Y'know, in case they DO separate us."

Link, who was lying back in his own bed, wasn't sure how to respond. Looking at Toon's sullen face, he almost wanted to go over and give him a hug. Before he could, the young one rushed out a "Goodnight" and shut the light off.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoy. And we intended to have Master Hand's voice sound like Jeffery Combs.


	7. Chapter 7

It was Christmas Eve at the Smash Mansion, and that holiday feeling was in full swing. Inside, several fighters and assist trophies partook in their own Yuletide activites; Peach making the traditional Holiday feast, careful to keep Wario and Kirby from eating anything until after she was completely finished. Many of the residence had taken to gathering around and watching Christmas specials together, laughter ringing get out as they watched the exploits of two children assisting Santa after a transformation into a vampire; amused by the stupidity of the one with the abnormally large nose. Gifts had already been decided, acquired, and wrapped, all sitting in wait in their owners' rooms for the moment they could be placed under the tree. Outside, a gentle but lasting snow made for the perfect Winter Wonderland.

Samus and Pit attempted (and failed) to assist each other in ice skating, the bounty hunter blowing a stray lock of hair out of her face as they both fell to the ice repeatedly. The chattering of Diddy Kong could be heard as he clumsily managed to stay on his feet, and seemed to be taunting the less fortunate skaters. Being smacked into by his larger counterpart as he slid across the ice quickly silenced him, however.

By far the most graceful skaters were Mario and Rosalina, who were in the middle of a friendly competition as they literally skated circles around each other.

"You've got to wonder how they manage to skate so effortlessly in leather and heels..." Isabelle noted, skating farther off alongside Villager. The part-time mayor only shrugged, before directing his attention to the snowball that flew over their heads.

Said snowball landed right in the hair of Ashley, who brushed it out with a giggle before molding her own and tossing it at her attacker. Toon Link took the hit right to the eye, and fell to the ground before sitting up and grinning.

"I hope you realize, this means war." He said. "PRIME!"

"Surprise attack!" The older Link shouted, popping up from behind a bush and pelting Ashley, so hard she feel face first into the snow. The girl raised her head and blinked the snow out of her face before giving a glare to the laughing brothers. Looking around, she spotted the Lumas floating nearby, and ran over to them. In the short amount of time she had been spending with Rosalina, Ashley had not only come to admire her more, but also become quite well liked among the many Lumas she had brought with her. It had surprised Ashley and Toon to find out just how many there were, especially considering that the matriarch was only allowed one at a time during battle.

Toon and Link were formulating another battle plan, before a looming shadow alerted them to the Lumas' presence.

Ashley watched in amusement as both blondes paled, before running in terror from the armada of star creatures that began a rain of snowballs onto them. It was to the point that both Links raised their shields behind them as they attempted their futile escape. She was surprised, however, when a Hand burst from out of the snow and grabbed Toon by the leg.

"HAAHAhahahAhHahHahHhahhHAhaHhHAHA! i Got yoU, BOy!"

"What do you want with him, Crazy?" Link asked, and the hand only responded with another mad cackle.

"ToOny neeDs To go iN THe OFfice nOw. Buh-bye!"

Toon could barely start protesting before he was flung from the hands grip and towards the mansion, smashing through the window to Master Hand's office. Crazy Hand gave another burst of laughter, before the Lumas (who had not ceased their deluge of snowballs) hit him with a few stray shots.

"ooOOOOOOOOOOoooooH!" The Hand said, "LOOK AT THESE UPSTARTS! You WAnna GO, chILDreN? Let'S-a Go!"

With that, he scooped up a small mountain of snow and lobbed it at the star children, who scattered and began crying out for their mama.

"Dude, not cool!" Link yelled at the incredibly jittery laughing hand. Ashley and Link exchanged glances before rushing to the mansion to check on Toon.

* * *

Toon was exiting the office just as they arrived, and he greeted his brother and friend with a halfhearted smile.

"You ok?" Link asked, smiling when he got a nod in response. "Feeling fit enough for a bit of shield sledding."

"Can't." Toon said, trying to ignore the twinge of disappointment on Link's face. "Master Hand wants me to get this year's tree."

"Th-that's all?" Ashley asked, "I mean, that's good, right? ...You're not in trouble, or anything?"

"Nah." Toon rubbed the back of his head. "But last time someone went out to find a tree big enough it took them hours. I'm probably gonna be out all day, and I wanted to spend time with you guys, and everyone else."

"We can go with you though right?" Link suggested. "It won't be as fun as sticking around the place, but-"

"I've got a better idea." Ashley said, grabbing Toon Link's hand and pulling him along to the main room. The place was currently vacant, to be filled with people and presents that night after the tree had been gathered and set. A large stand was ready for when said tree arrive, and the three gathered around it as Ashley explained her plan.

"You're just gonna grow a tree, with magic?" Link asked. "Are you sure you can do that?"

"Anything's possible with magic." Ashley said with a touch of smugness.

"Yeah, but are you sure YOU can do that?" The hero reiterated, earning an irritated glare from the small girl.

"I'm sure she can do it." Toon giggled earnestly, smiling at Ashley. "And when she does, it's back to the Holiday Funtimes."

Ashley took in her friend's confidence in her, and with a smile, raised her wand.

"PINUS ARBOLES GIGANTICUS!" She shouted, pointing her wand at the stand. In a flash of green, an enormous pine tree sprouted from thin air. All three were taken by the fresh pine smell, sighing in content.

"Told ya." Toon and Ashley said in unison.

"Shame on me for doubting." Link said with a whistle. "I guess everyone'll gather to do declarations later on. But for now...shield sledding?"

"HECK YEAH!" Toon yelled, pulling the others along.

"I don't know why we don't just get Sonic to do this every year." Link muttered, the two kids shrugging in agreement as they left the room, none of them noticing as the tree shifted around further.

* * *

Kirby sat happily atop a particularly large snowy hill, observing as the two Links laid their shield's in front of them and slid down the snow with them. The pink puffball watched curiously, before the shifting of snow nearby alerted him to Ashley sitting rather close to him, her gaze following the two blondes before she noticed the pink thing staring at her.

"HAI~!" He yelled with a smile, the young girl shying away slightly before raising a hand in greeting. Kirby pushed himself forward, sliding down the snow. Ashley watched curiously, as before he reached the bottom Kirby began to roll, gathering snow around himself. By the time he reached the bottom the infant Star Warrior was the centerpiece of a gigantic snowball which just managed to avoid bowling them over as it rushed by them.

Rolling past, Kirby barreled over the frozen lake, and by extension Mario.

"MAAARIOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Luigi yelled from the ice, attempting to run after the runaway snowball...but instead simply treading in place before slipping and falling flat on his face, the others on the ice snickering a big. Rosalina skated gracefully over to the green-clad plumber and setting him back on his feet the wave of her wand. The two shared a smile, as Luigi blushed rubbing the comically red mark on his nose. Luigi's attention went back to the snowball running off with his brother. He charged up for a moment before launching himself off the ice and chasing the ball.

Further off, Wii-Fit Trainer and Villager were busy building a snow fort, before the sound of the ever growing snowball approached. Villager panicked, while the Trainer calmly grabbed him and narrowly dodged the threat. The two blinked as they held onto each other, before yet another figure sped past them. Sonic the Hedgehog followed close behind the snowball on his snowboard, before leaping off the board and bursting the ball with a Homing Attack. Mario and Kirby flew through the air before landing upside down in a nearby tree.

Thank-a you!" Mario called, after shaking off the daze.

"No prob, Chief." Sonic said, leaning on his snowboard, shaking his head as he noted Luigi crawling over to them in exasperation. "Whatever would you do without me?"

Back up on the hill, Ashley watched the whole spectacle before bursting out laughing. She was nearly on the verge of tears, before she felt Toon Link's presence behind her. Without a word, Toon pulled her onto his shield and sped off down the hill again with her in tow, somewhere between a scream and a laugh.

* * *

Link shook his head as Toon and Ashely found themselves seated next to Mario, Luigi and Kirby back inside the mansion, all of them sitting on a couch, wrapped in blankets and sipping from hot chocolate.

"This is why we were gloves outside, kids." He said as he ruffled his younger counterparts hair.

"Hehe, shut up." Toon said, his voice clearly congested.

"How do you explain those two, then?" Ashley asked, looking over to Mario and Luigi, who both looked away embarrassed.

"THAT is why we also don't get caught up in giant snowballs." Link shrugged, before Kirby suddenly expanded to twice his size. His eyes scrunched up and his seemingly permanent blush marks became more uneven as he let out a sneeze that blew the others off the couch. Kirby himself was flung from the couch when Bowser walked over and tipped it up, looking under it before placing it back down.

"Poyo, poyo." Kirby looked down, half apologizing in shame and half moping at his loss of hot chocolate and a couch seat.

The Koopa King walked around the room, checking on every nook and cranny he could find, before exiting and exploring the rest of the mansion. The others all looked amongst themselves in curiosity, before shrugging off the lizard's intrusion.

"Bless-a you." Luigi chuckled nervously looking back and placing his gloved hand on the head of and obviously upset Kirby.

Kirby smiled a bit.

* * *

"Pheh." Ganondorf growled as he spotted Bowser searching throughout the place. "Every year I see you skulking around, looking for presents to open early. I truly don't understand why you and everyone else would waste valuable time on this pithy little holiday."

Bowser answered with a toothy grin. "Just cause we're both in the princess-napping game doesn't mean I have to be a Scrooge like you. I for one LIKE getting presents. Plus, I usually get something from my kids around this time of year."

"Superficial nonsense..." The Gerudo claimed, rolling his eyes as Bowser continued to tear rooms apart, looking for presents with his name on it.

* * *

"And you're sure this is a safe idea?" Fox asked as he and Falco strolled over to their Arwings, their heavy footsteps crunching through the snow.

"Screw safe." The blue bird said casually, hopping into his machine with a grin. "We need to top last year's Christmas display."

"Shouldn't be hard, assuming this works." Fox mumbles with a smirk.

"Which it WILL. I swear, I wouldn't have to do this much convincing with Slippy." Falco grumbled

"Excuse me, am I being compared unfavorably to Slippy!?" Fox yelled, putting his hand on his chest in mock horror.

"Ya just might be, boss man. Try to have a little confidence."

Fox smirked. "Alright, alright. But if we blow up, you're not getting your present."

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Falco said dismissively, before the two took off.

* * *

"Ooh, look everyone!" Zelda said, bringing everyone's attention to the nearest window. They all ooh' and aah'd as the two resident Arwing pilots flew about the sky, leaving bright read, white and green trails behind them. They made shapes and words throughout the sky, a "MERRY CHRISTMAS" here, a Santa Claus there, most clapping along their progress and skill. By the time they were done the night sky was filled with light and color.

"Feast's ready everyone!" Peach called, everyone rushing over to the excessively large dining table. The whole place was layer out with turkey, cake, any kind of food you'd imagine. Peach herself sat satisfied with herself as everyone dug in. Just as she was observing Wario eating his garlic-filled food (his appetized smile the only thanks she's likely get from him), her attention was caught by Mario and Luigi coming over to her with a large tray. Presenting it to her, the brothers smiled up at Peach as her eyes watered a bit. On the tray was a huge cake with the words "Thank You, Peach." written in frosting. They laid it down next to the Princess, who scooped them both up in a bone-crushing hug.

Farther down the table, Ashley looked curiously at Toon Link as he was choking down on some crawfish.

"Tastes like home." The boy said with a contented sigh, before turning to his friend. "Want some?"

Thinking for a moment, Ashley shrugged and stuck her fork in some.

The chatter and clatter continued to ring throughout the hall as Master Hand flew in. He took his seat at the head of the table, despite no one ever having seen him attempt to eat anything.

"Once everyone's done eating, they're free to head over to the main room for tree decoration. This year was Toon Link's turn, and I'm confident he's got us a satisfactory one."

Ashley and Toon shared a look, then a thumbs-up, before Link caught their attention.

"You guys wanna go check on the tree?" He asked, "make sure it hasn't magicked out of existence or something?"

The pair nodded and turned to take off, leaving Link to chat happily with others. He turned his gaze to his country's brunette princes. Toon tapped Prime's shoulder pointing at Zelda. Toon mouthed something like "ROCK ON!" or "HECK YEAH!", giving his older brother a thumbs up, before turning and mumbling something to an Assist Trophy, and following Ashley through the exit giddily.

Link approached Zelda and started to happily converse with the royal. The sudden presence of snow on their head made them look up to see Lakitu floating above, snow falling from his cloud. And yet, something else hung from the cloud as well, and the hero gave the princess a nervous smile.

"Heh, Mistletoe. Figures."

* * *

"Well, it certainly looks solid." Toon said as he and Ashley sized up the tree.

"Yeah...but does something seem off about it to you? It looks...I don't know, bigger."

"Really? I don't see it. But hey, bigger is better as far as Christmas trees go, right?"

The two stopped talking when they heard the tree shuffle around a bit. Tilting their heads, they stepped closer to the tree, looking for any signs of movement. Moving ever closer, they saw branches twisting slowly, then rather quickly as one suddenly snapped outward and struck Toon Link, knocking the boy into the far wall.

"...Well that happened." He muttered in a daze.

"IT'S ALIVE!?" The girl shouted before she too was smacked by a branch. Looking up at the tree, the two children could've sworn they saw a malevolent face in it's branches, before it bristled and launched a string of sharp pine needles at them.

Ashley yelled, only to find that Toon had her covered with his shield, the needles breaking against it rapidly.

Why is it so mean!?" The boy asked.

"I don't know!"

* * *

Link and Zelda were taking that moment to walk over and check in, the former rolling his eyes as Sonic and Pit were close behind, snickering at Link's smooch-ridden face. All four of them suddenly silenced when they heard crashing and screaming from the main room. Link and Zelda exchanged looks before rushing to the door.

Before they could open the door, however, it swung open on its own with Toon rushing out and slamming it behind him.

"You can't come in yet!" Toon yelled.

The other smashers seemed to have a thousand questions on their lips, but it was Zelda who noted "Toon, you're bleeding."

The small hero blinked, before raising a hand to his cheek. He was indeed bleeding slightly from there, as well as his temple. Some stray needles must've sliced him.

"KILL IT WITH FIRE!" Came the voice of Ashley from behind the door. Without another word, Toon went back into the room and shut the door behind him.

"Toon!" Link yelled from outside, attempting to open the door. "What's going on in there? Are you ok?"

Toon leaned against the door to keep it closed, opening his mouth to say something. Noting came out however, as he was to busy staring bewildered as Ashley appeared to have actually set the tree on fire. It now looked even more monstrous, its blazing branches attempting to swipe at the girl.

"Uh, everything's perfectly alright now." The boy called to the others. "We're fine, we're all fine, here, now, thank you. How are you?"

"...what!?" Came four voices in response.

Ashley groaned. Taking her eyes off the killer tree for just a moment, she waved her wand at the door, a sheen coming off it as Toon Link stepped away.

"Sealed and soundproofed!" She said, "now help me get rid of this thing!"

"Can't you magic it back into a normal tree?" Toon yelled, leaping to slash at a branch that was on its way toward Ashley.

"It was never a normal tree!" Ashley said as she blasted the tree with an explosive spell. "We need to destroy it!"

"Can't you at least try?" Toon asked desperately, as the pair backed up against each other. "There's got to be a way to salvage this!"

"Trust me, there isn't! I know!" ZAP.

"How?" SLASH.

"I...I knew this would happen! I knew this tree wouldn't work from the very begining-AH!"

Toon pushed Ashley out of the way of the next branch strike, and the two thankfully fell behind some cover in the form of an overturned table.

"If you knew it would turn out like this then why did you do it in the first place?!"

Ashley blushed slightly, partly from the question, and partly because Toon was basically pinning her to the floor. Not a moment later did Toon himself realize this and quickly release her, both kids sitting up without breaking eye contact.

"I didn't want you to leave."

The pair then yelp in shock as the table was tossed aside by the tree. A branch wrapped itself around Ashley's leg and pulled her toward its malicious tree maw, Toon grabbing the girl by her hands as she screamed in panic.

"What do I do!" Toon yelled.

"I-I don't know, maybe...take out the trunk."

"Ok!" The two children shared a nod, before Toon let go of Ashley's hand and rushed toward the tree's unguarded trunk. With a shriek of fury, his sword was driven through the trunk just before Ashley could be tossed into the tree's mouth.

The girl screamed as she fell from the now dead tree's grasp and right on top of Toon. The two groaned, before rolling out of the way as the tree collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

Another thud signaled the arrival of the others, now the totality of the mansion's residence, who broke into the room just in time to see Toon and Ashley clinging to each other beside the mountain of twigs and ashes.

"Well this is...unfortunate." Master Hand said as Link and Zelda rushed over to Toon Link, kneeling next to him in concern.

Ashley looked at the crowed outside the door; fighters and assist trophies alike were all looking on in either disappointment, disapproval, or a mix of both. Seeing the looks of sadness and even scorn on some of their faces, because of her, hurt more than words ever could have. Even Rosalina and the Luma's seemed affected.

Looking at Toon Link is what really broke her. It was only now in the stillness that she noticed the bleeding cuts he'd gotten from the whole ordeal. And it was all because of her. Stepping away from Toon Link, she fought to keep the tears in as she bolted out the door, past the crowd, and to her own room.

* * *

Ashley was sitting, alone, arms wrapped around for who knows how long. Fox and Falco's display was still bright up in the sky, and she stared at it whilst inwardly berating herself. She was nearly on the verge of tears, when she felt Toon Link's presence behind her.

"Hey."

"...Hey."

"You know the others aren't really mad at you, right?"

"Pft. Sure."

"I'm serious. They got over it like that. They're all exchanging gifts now. They-they don't even care about the tree. Not even Master Hand-"

"I don't care about Master Hand you goof!" The girl spat out. "Or the tree or anything else! I just care about you! And...I got you hurt because I wanted you to stay! I was selfish, and-and-"

The girl swallowed as Toon Link grabbed her hand and brought it to his own face. "Look at me Ash. Zelda took care of it. The bleeding's stopped, I'm not hurt, and I'm not mad at you. Just relax."

Ashley sighed, running a thumb over Toon's cheek, where the cut had been, before grasping the boy in a hug. "Thank you. Thank you."

"Thank you, Ash."

* * *

Indeed, when the children returned, everyone was waiting in content. Samus and Megaman had gotten each other one of their own helmets.

"That fits you!" Samus smiled, lightly pressing her finger on Rock's nose. He 'booped' in joyful response.

Falco greeted Fox with a brand new pair of legs, receiving a new Reflector in exchange.

"You're gonna need it, seeing as you're always kicking yours around." Fox smirked.

"HAH! Says the one who almost got his blown up and dowsed in water... TWICE! Besides kicking it gives me more swag!" Falco boasted crossing his arms across his chest. Fox rolled his eyes as they continued their friendly banter.

Even those who gave or received no presents could take solace in the company of friends.

Ashley was a a bit apprehensive still, but when she and Toon looked to where Link and Zelda were sitting, Rosalina leaning over the couch, the wordless gesture to come over was enough to bring a smile to her face.

"So," Toon said as he pulled Ashley over to Prime and the rest of their friends, "be completely honest...how many times did you guys make out while we were gone?"

"...Shut up."

The only ones not in the holiday spirit were Ganondorf and Bowser, the former leaning above the latter with a smirk. "Still no gifts, Koopa King."

"I don't get it." Bowser said forlornly. "I get one every year from my kids. Every year."

Ganondorf rolled his eyes, before a familiar 'beep-bop-beep-bop' approached the two villains. Bowser looked down, to see Mr. Game &amp; Watch holding up a small two dimensional present. The king was so shocked he nearly fell backwards in his chair.

"When the heck did you get here!?" He asked, as Master Hand floated by with a snicker.

"Game &amp; Watch arrived yesterday. He's been hiding in crevices all morning, waiting to surprise everyone with gifts."

Bowser eyed the present, before taking it. Opening it, he found a large coffee with the words BOWSER RULEZ printed on it. The large lizard had to stop himself from crying. He couldn't, however, stop himself from grabbing the nearest thing and hugging it.

"Don't touch me..." Ganondorf said, though he made no move to get Bowser off.

Everyone's eyes followed the most unique of their alumni, as he strolled into the middle of the room and planted down a large box from seemingly nowhere.

The box rustled slightly, before popping open to reveal a small boy in a striped shirt and baseball cap.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" He yelled.

"...Ness?"

AN: TheCrampReturns; yeah, so this chapter probably came out real rushed. We wanted to have SOMETHING done by Christmas, and some holiday fluff seemed good enough. I personally feel like it could be better, but here's hoping you enjoyed it anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

Of all things Ashley disliked, formal parties were on a particularly strange part of the list. They were fun and let her wear rather nice clothing, most of which was still predominantly red despite her currently black frilled dress. On the other hand no matter how many opportunities there were to play pranks and fool around, the risks of punishment were much more plentiful.

She shook her head in a sudden rush of denial, pacing around her room and glancing at a framed photo of her and Red she kept near her bed. This was a New Year. She could be a new person.

New years resolution: Don't get into any trouble with the Hands. It sounded easy-ish. Boring, but doable. As long as there was no one to provoke her, everything would turn up just fine.

* * *

"Ash, Ash!" Toon Link voice rang from across the ballroom. The place looked absolutely gorgeous, along with all the people in it. The princesses were in rather extravagant dresses, as per usual, but even Mario, Luigi, and Prime were in red and green tuxedos. Fox and Falco looked as if their legs had been shined, Bowser had some how managed to fit in a white wedding suit and meticulously fidgeted with the crown on his head which had been knocked off by a golden-robed Pit.

Even Pikachu and Kirby wore hats and bow ties, though Kirby's was floppy and ridiculously oversized.

"Ash, there you are!" Toon Link stopped, out of breath. He looked up at her with an outrageous smile, his hand clutched to an equally frazzled boy beside him. The raven-haired boy had a red-cap, black shorts and a dress shirt, so he was no where near as flamboyantly clothed as Toon.

"Nice suit." Ashley mumbled taking in his green suit jacket, yellow green pants and shoes. He had a pink-stripped bow tie and a badge of his shield on his lapel.

"Ya' think so?" He smiled, adjusting his green Triforce-pinned top hat. "You look beautifuller too. Well not fuller... You don't look- fuller, jus'... Y'know more beautiful." He stuttered over his compliment making them both blush.

There was a short stretch of silence.

"Any_hoo_..." He pushed the boy forward, "You already know Ness. Ness, this is my best bud Ashley." The two shared an awkwardly hesitant handshake, before Ashley pointed at Ness and confusedly raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you pop out of a Christmas present?"

"Mhm." Ness nodded, as if acknowledging with pride what a not-strange idea that was. "TL talked about you all the time in letters and stuff. Says you a real good prankster?"

"Did he now?" Ashley murmured, smiling with a sense of pride of her own, though also twiddling with her dress frills, happy that she had made a preemptively good impression on the returning fighter.

"Guys!" Toon gasped in a panic, pointing towards the buffet table. "Kirb' is heading toward the food. In like five seconds there's gonna be nothing left!"

Ness' eyes widened at that, and Ashley followed the two desperate and hungry boys with a snort.

* * *

"Go dance with her!" Ness whispered in Toon's pointed ear. Toon, who had his mouth full with a chunk of heavily-frosted cake, turned to look at Ashley. She seem to be in a deep conversation with two other magicians. A young man and woman both with silver hair and the same name. Robin, if he recalled correctly.

"Ya' shink I shouwd?" He mumbled, chewing sloppily. He pondered for a moment, scratching his head. "Nah, she wooks weal busy rith Wrobin." He swallowed.

Ness's blue-black eyes squinted at the two black-cloaked, regal figures. "Wait, aren't they supposed to be the same person? And how is that Lucina girl his/her/their daughter? They look the same age!"

Toon's face had an equally puzzled expression. "Master Hand mag-"

"Master Hand magic." Ness nodded. "Anyway, dancing, you should do that!"

Toon's mouth twisted into an unsure half frown as he shrugged, his eyes glancing any where except Ness and Ashley. "_Eeeeeeeeeeeeh_..."

His eyes caught sight of a luma attempting to 'dance' with Kirby. They seemed only marginally less competent then Zelda and Link, who were being played with be an extremely giggly Midna. Kirby's hat seemed to be throwing him off big time.

Fox was seemingly trying have a long-distance conversation with what Falco called his "blue towel of a girlfriend." Falco never specified if that was an insult or not.

Peach's extravagant dress was being pulled at by a small Koopa-like being, which insisted on calling her his "Momma."

Wait..._what_?

Toon rubbed his eyes before feeling the weight of both Ashley and Ness at his sides. They all blinked in utter nonsensical disbelief.

"When," Ashley asked, tilting her head at the mini-Bowser who Peach was doing her best to give a placating smile to, "did _that_ thing show up?"

Ness blinked, before shoving the other two's down.

"Look out!" He shouted, before a plate whizzed by where their heads had been and smashed spectacularly against the far wall. The trio looked up, their heads turned along with everyone else's to see who threw the object. It wasn't hard, since all they had to do was follow the sound of maniacal laughter.

Not just the one, but now 8 small Koopas were inexplicably wreaking utter havoc around the large party hall. Well, not all small. The largest was gray and white, with a star-like patch surrounding his eye. He stood taller than either of the three preteens.

"Who?! W-what?!" Ashley stuttered in a sense of confusion. She hadn't even noticed she was grabbing Toon's hand to the point where his knuckles were white. Three pairs of eyes widened at the chaos surrounding them.

The large gray one had taken over the buffet table making Ness and Toon fly backwards. He began shoving food into his mouth unceremoniously, tossing away plates when was he done, and when Kirby wandered close to the buffet table again, he was grabbed and tossed to the far side of the room with a grunt.

"I got him!" Sonic yelled, zooming under Kirby and catching him like a beach ball, before a crazed, high pitched giggle alerted him to a small, cross-eyed rainbow headed Koopa swinging from the chandelier above them. Down below, a seemingly female one with large heavily made-up lips, a bow and jewelry nagged him to move as she tried to steal the gold coverings from the glass.

"Move it Lem, you're gonna break something valuable!"

"Hahahahahahahahaha, so?"

Zelda and Link looked to each other in confusion much like everyone else before everyone was soon covering their ears at a sudden cacophony of laughter and complexly arranged piano keys. Crazy Hand floated at the grand piano, seemingly partnered... or competing?... with another larger Koopa, this one with the large bouffant blue hair and a serious expression. The latter was definitely playing an actual arrangement while the former was..._not_.

Lucina, who had been having a conversation with Marth before all the chaos began, jumped out of her seat in surprised when she realized another Koopa had been eyeballing her unnoticed from the seat next to her. This one wiggled his eyebrows over his thick-rimmed spectacles, his eyes as crazed as his prepubescent giggling.

"Hello, cutie!" He said with a wide grin. "Names Iggy. You new here? I'm new here! You like science?"

Nearby, the Robins looked to each other and nodded in agreement, pulling out their spell books and deciding that these things needed to be to be incapacitated. They didn't get far, though, before their books were snatched from their grasp by a Koopa with a blue Mohawk and the stationary capabilities of a Mexican jumping bean.

"Roy!" He yelled, tossing the books at a nearby Koopa in pink shades, "Go long!"

Grinning, Roy belched out a column of fire, nearly hitting several several guests as he incinerated the books.

"Hey!" Ashley's high-pitched voice cut through the white noise, if only for a few moments. "I'll have you know that those books contained ancient knowledge on 700 different summoning, and even weapon-like forces and spells!"

The book-murderer, along with the mohawked one, broke into outrageous laugh, looking up at her insane wonder. "Really?! Ah, man guys. We broke the toys too soon!" They sounded genuinely sad, although Ashley couldn't tell if they were being sarcastic and messing with her.

"Yes, really!" Ashley continued. "And they were _not_ toys!"

"Ash," Toon muttered, "You sure you want to pick a fight with these...um...?" He trailed off, not sure what to call the newly arrived mischief makers.

"Yes! Yes I'm sure! These _miscreants_ should know that those books contained everything from-" Ashley suddenly felt a Roy's clawed hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quit it with the whining!"

Ashley broke free from his grasp, which had muffled her voice. _"I am not whining. I am complaining!"_

"Not whining! Compwainin'! Bleh,bleh,blah. Man you're almost as annoying as Wendy!" He mocked.

"Leave her alone!" Toon pushed his way up towards the slightly taller figure. His face looked more intimidating and determined than Ashley had seen it in quite a long time.

"Ooooh," Roy said in mock terror, "check it out sibs, the little kid has a sword. I'm shaking!"

Toon's grip on his sword tightened, to the point where his hand was shaking. The large gray one joined in.

"Good one Roy. Lemmy, Iggy, Ludwig, guys look Tinker Bell's trembling!" He laughs. "What, can't stand up for your little friend?"

"Watch me..." Toon seethed, raising his Master Sword and preparing to teach these creeps a lesson.

Before anything could escalate further, Bowser had appeared behind Toon and all eight small faces seems to light up.

"_Poppa_!""_Dad_!""_Daddy-O_!" and variations thereupon where shouted in unison

"_Kids_!" He yelped, hugged by all eight bodies in rapid succession.

"Didja like the Christmas present? We had to stop Wendy from making it all girly!" Roy asked.

"You're the one wearing pink." Wendy grumbled, Roy sticking his tongue out in response.

"Well, Lemmy almost broke it." Ludwig's posh voice proclaimed. Lemmy let out a fit of giggles.

"Ludwig and Roy were being jerks while you were gone." Larry added.

"That's just because Jr won't let anybody else play leader!" Iggy chimed in a songlike tone, the two bigger Koopalings doing nothing to deny their jealousy.

Bowser's eyes almost welled with tears. He was brimming with pride over their complete discordance, their (not) harmless pranks and (completely opposite of) good deeds.

"That's my kids for you." He grunted cooly, as Toon, Ashley, and Ness tip toed away from the familial display.

"Well," came the unexpected voice of Master Hand, "I don't mean to cast a cloud a heartwarming family moment, but your kids seemed to have caused quite the disruption. If like a word with the...nine of you."

Master hand floated out of the room, Bowser shrugging and giving a loud whistle for his kids to follow him. Lining up in a single file line, the collection of chaotic Koopalings followed the giant hand out of the room, chatting incessantly as they went.

The party was silent for a moment, as everyone took in what just happened. The chandelier was still swinging haphazardly back and forth, before suddenly it fell to the ground and shattered, screams of shock ringing out as it did.

Ashley gave a sigh of relief as Ness gave a low whistle, as if impressed with the chaos that had just transpired. Both turned to Toon Link, who was running a hand through his hair and still looked frustrated.

"I need some air." He said, leaving the room, Ashley and Ness following him.

* * *

"Toon Link!" Ashley called, her and Ness having split up to find their friend, wherever he was outside. "Toon! To- There you are!" She saw him curled up by a cliff behind the mansion.

Ashley ran towards him only to slow down. She stood a few feet away from him looking at his unresponsive figure. His eyes were completely focused on his hands which held a shiny if old looking telescope.

"Hey." he said as she came to sit beside him.

"Hi. You didn't have to, you know, get all angry like that at the party for me. I overreacted. They were just books."

"And he was just a _jerk_, teasing you for it like that. I couldn't stand for that."

"You looked like you were ready to slice his face open..." the girl said, before chortling a bit, "which, you know, would've been cool, but with the Hands right there, maybe not the best move."

"I can't believe you're being the cautious one out of the two of us."

"I made a New Years resolution. That I could be a better person and a better friend, and not get in trouble with the Hands. Caution is kinda key right now. And you almost messed it up before the night was over!"

Ashley still smiled, letting Toon know she didn't mean anything by it, but still there was a pregnant silence for a few minutes, as the two sat stargazing.

"My sister, Aryll." Toon suddenly said, holding up his telescope. "She gave me this on my birthday. The birthday before last. That same day Ganondorf took her from right under my nose. I went on an adventure to save her, and then the whole world pretty much, and..." Toon gave a frustrated sigh and Ashley quickly place her arms around him. "Tetra and I...we went off to find new lands after I lost the King of Red Lions. It was fun for a while, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit...lonely. I came here for the first time, then. I met Prime, Ness, Lucas, everyone." He breathed heavily.

"When I came back this year-last year, almost, I guess- everyone but Prime was gone, so when I found you, and Ness popped up, I guess..." The boy wiped a tear from his eye, it just now occurring to him that he was really bad and inarticulate when it came to talking about his feelings. "I guess I'm a bit protective, is what I'm saying."

"...Well," Ashley said after a long while, letting out a stifled laugh, "At least we're not Master Hand's least favorites anymore."

"Yea." Toon chuckles. "Progress." He gave a joking thumbs up.

Ness showed up behind them, panting, presumably from running to find them. "Come on you two, we're going to miss the countdown!"

* * *

_"3...2..._1! Happy New Year!" Rang throughout the fixed up dining hall.

"Hey." Toon tapped Ash's shoulder, catching her attention from giggling at the Koopalings, who were mercilessly teasing Samus and Pit with kissy faces. Even if they had gotten off on the wrong foot, and she didn't quite like their attitudes, Ashley could admit they were a bit funny... From a distance.

"Look at this." he motioned towards her, looking through the telescope with absolute glee. "Aryll and I used to look at the segulls, but this is even more beautiful!"

She took the telescope, which he handed to her with a goofy smile. And on the far-away view, Ashley could see _every_ stage, from Smashville to Final Destination to Delfino Plaza, lit up in fireworks. It truly was a happy new year all around.

* * *

"Hey Ash, ya' wanna dance?"


End file.
